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STRIKES

‘Biggest strike so far’: Munich to be hit by more disruption

Numerous municipal departments and businesses - including Kitas (day-care centres) and some hospitals - will shut their doors Tuesday in the Bavarian capital as workers walk off the job in the all-day strike.

Published: 20 March 2023 17:18 CET
Updated: 21 March 2023 09:52 CET
Munich Kita window
The colourful window of a Kita in Munich. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Peter Kneffel

The trade union Verdi has called on Munich public sector employees to participate in a major action on Tuesday, March 21st.

“According to the feedback from the participating companies and administrations so far, this will be the biggest strike action in recent years,”  Munich’s Verdi managing director Heinrich Birner told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. 

Birner estimated that around 3,000 people would take part in the city-wide action, which will begin with a mass gathering at Marienplatz in the city centre at 11 am.

The strikes are set to result in the closure of city administrative departments, social and educational services, waste management companies, and public utility services, including swimming pools, hospitals including München Klinik, banks belonging to the Stadtsparkasse, and the Employment Office (Agentur für Arbeit).

In recent weeks, workers all over Germany have been walking off the job in an ongoing dispute for higher wages. 

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why are there so many strikes in Germany right now?

The latest round of Verdi strikes on Monday saw public transport come to a halt in several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

Residents of Bavaria’s capital have particularly felt the effects of the actions in recent weeks, as rubbish bins have remained empty, buses and trams have come to a standstill, children were unable to go to Kitas, and flights at Munich airport were delayed or cancelled.

Verdi is asking for a 10.5 percent wage increase for the 2.5 million federal and local government employees nationwide, but at least €500 more per month. 

The employers have so far offered a gradual five per cent increase over a two-year period, as well as €2,500 in one-off payments, which Verdi has rejected as insufficient. 

“Many in the lower income groups really don’t know where they can save any more,” said Birner.

In expensive Munich, workers suffer particularly from inflation, which continues to drive up the costs of food, energy and housing.

READ ALSO: Munich’s public transport ‘largely out of service’ amid strikes

In addition, employees are carrying a heavy workload, as thousands of jobs are now unfilled. The Bavarian state capital alone is short of more than 4,000 workers.

Verdi has said that it will organise a countrywide strike in both public transport and administration on Monday, March 27th if its demands continue to go unmet.

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SCHOOLS

Teachers in Berlin urged to strike on Wednesday

Germany's classrooms are overcrowded amid a shortage of teachers across the country. A Berlin union has called for a walkout on Wednesday, after officials failed to respond to requests to negotiate on the topic.

Published: 21 May 2024 11:57 CEST
Teachers in Berlin urged to strike on Wednesday

The Education and Science Union (GEW) is calling for a teachers’ strike in Berlin on Wednesday, May 22nd.

The strike comes as the latest in a long series of teachers’ strikes in response to class sizes that have grown too large. As in years past, opponents to the strike have voiced concern that it may disrupt Arbitur examinations at some schools. Classes are canceled at some affected schools.

Speaking to Tagesspiegel on Monday, state student spokesman Aimo Görne called the strike “a disappointment”, and suggested that he had hoped a strike might come outside of the examination period this year. 

The GEW, however, suggests that the need for disruptive action is clear. 

What is the strike for smaller classes about?

GEW Berlin wants to achieve smaller class sizes in state schools.

Anne Albers, chief negotiator of GEW Berlin said in a statement published on the group’s website: “[Education workers] in the schools suffer every day with poor working conditions. Currently, more than 3,500 Berlin school classes are overcrowded, even by the standards of the Senate Administration.”

She added that the GEW’s demands can be met with “good political planning”.

Wednesday’s strike was announced one month prior, after Berlin’s Finance Senator did not respond to a renewed request for negotiations on the topic of classroom sizes.

Germany has suffered a growing shortage of teachers and school staff in recent years – an issue that is exacerbated by poor working conditions for teachers in overcrowded classrooms, as well as relatively low compensation.

Research by Robert Bosch Stiftung found that two-thirds of Germany’s part-time teachers would be willing to work more if their work would be fully compensated. Often teachers are only fully compensated for teaching hours, while necessary work done outside of the classroom (such as training, meetings and communication with parents) is under-estimated and underpaid.

READ ALSO: German part-time teachers ‘prepared to increase hours’ to combat staff shortages

The GEW’s strike on Wednesday also concerns other social workers in public schools. Along with reducing classroom sizes, the GEW demands that a ratio of school psychologists to students be set.

Is solidarity for striking teachers falling?

There have been 17 strike days for smaller classes in Berlin since 2021 – the latest strike lasted for three days in October of 2023.

While relevant agencies, along with parents and other school staff, were initially largely supportive of striking teachers, it seems that some are growing tired of the ongoing walkouts.

Guido Richter, co-chairman of the Berlin Primary School Principals’ Association, told Tagesspiegel that the GEW’s goal was “correct in perspective, but illusory at the moment”. He added that schools where teachers strike end up losing lessons. 

It’s hard to imagine how classroom sizes can realistically be reduced in the short term as the shortage of teachers has only grown more severe in recent years. But the GEW has published a 15-point plan on the topic, which it believes could help reduce Germany’s teacher shortage.

The plan’s points include: increasing compensation for teachers and pay raises for trainees, recognising foreign teachers’ qualifications, more IT and administrative support, and expanding the number of teacher training courses, among others.

But while the fact that Germany’s classrooms are overcrowded is largely agreed, whether or not striking helps is not.

Even among GEW members, it seems the tactic of warning strikes is somewhat controversial. In the last round of strikes, only one in 10 salaried teachers reportedly walked out.

READ ALSO: School drop-outs rise across Germany as resources and teachers spread thin

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